Harriet Hentges

Harriet Hentges has exceptional international and senior management experience in both public and private sectors. She is President of Hentges Associates, an advisory firm on sustainability and corporate responsibility. She was a principal in Hentges Kahn & Strauss (HKS) LLC, a consulting practice for food producers, manufactures and grocery retailers aimed at fostering a more sustainable food system. HKS partnered with “Supermarket Guru” Phil Lempert to create THE FOOD JOURNAL, a bi-weekly, in-depth look at critical issues for agriculture and the food industry, providing balanced information and commentary.

Her role in three major retailers arms her with skills and perspectives essential to strategy development and implementation. She has held key posts at all three — Sears Roebuck, Wal-Mart and Ahold USA. At Sears World Trade, she created the Planning and Research capability for the start up company. She joined Wal-Mart at the launch of its sustainability strategy as Senior Director, Stakeholder Engagement. At Ahold USA, she was Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability where she drafted and directed the sustainability strategy and led the U.S. effort to meet the global corporate responsibility targets of the parent company, Royal Ahold.

Harriet has also played a prominent role in sustainability in the food industry as a member of the Food Marketing Institute’s Sustainability Executive Committee, where she chaired the Education and Communication Committee.

Harriet’s diverse and unique experience working across sectors in various organizations to solve problems led to her focus on corporate responsibility. It has enabled her to help clients integrate business and sustainability goals and to develop public-private partnerships to extend the reach of their organizations.

Earlier, Harriet was chief operating officer of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent Federal agency specializing in international conflict resolution where she created post-conflict stabilization programs in the Balkans, Rwanda, Afghanistan and Iraq. She also served as COO of a financial services firm and of a national grass roots organization, the U.S. League of Women Voters. She has worked with non-profit organizations all over the world. Her government service includes the U.S. Special Trade Representative’s Office and the U.S. Department State Policy Planning Staff.

She holds a doctorate in international economics and is adjunct professor at Georgetown University, teaching a graduate course in corporate responsibility and sustainability.